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Thank you for attending the premiere performances of Tectonic Theater Project's Uncommon Sense!

We were delighted to have you join the Cedar Valley community as we gathered to hear stories from our friends near and throughout the world, considering the spectrum of neurodiversity.

Uncommon Sense offers Iowans a national stage to engage the world in powerful dialogue, not only furthering the development of awareness, but more so, nurturing deeper understanding and sincere appreciation for persons on the spectrum.

We are so excited to have you with us today! Check out the happenings this afternoon -

Schedule of Events

12:30 PM...............Valet services are available for patrons whom would like to pay to have their car parked.

12:30 PM...............Info Fair begins in Gallagher Bluedorn lobby. Several area organizations will have tables located in the lobby for information sharing

1:15 - 1:45 PM.......Curtain Talk begins in Jebe Hall, located adjacent to the lobby. The Tectonic Theater Project is offering this prologue to the show.

1:30 PM.................Doors open for seating in the Great Hall

2:00 PM.................Uncommon Sense begins in the Great Hall! (The show takes less than two hours. There is no intermission.)

4:00 PM.................Reception begins with refreshments in the Gallagher Bluedorn lobby. The company will share about their work on Uncommon Sense.

Things to know BEFORE the show:

Entrances -

There are two main entrances to the Gallagher Bluedorn; doors on the east and west sides.

The east side is the most populated entrance as this is also where valet drop-off occurs. The west side experiences significantly less traffic.

Both entrances will take you to the lobby, which is where patrons spend time before the performance.

Tickets -

If you have tickets in will call, please arrive early as we expect high volumes of people needing to claim their tickets.

Ushers -

Ushers (dressed in white shirts and black pants) will greet you in the lobby.

They are available to help you navigate the Gallagher Bluedorn, scan your ticket(s), and find your seats. Should you have any questions, they can help address them.

Questions -

Questions may also be answered by referring to the "Patron Services" table in the lobby.

This table is located just inside the east entrance and is marked with a sign. It includes a detailed schedule for the evening, information about quiet zones, and the location of restrooms.

Quiet Zones -

Quiet Zones have been designated on three floors of the Gallagher Bluedorn. These spaces offer a place to relax before and during the performances.

For those patrons who might benefit from a break, the first floor quiet zone (right inside the west entrance) offer some 'break time' materials (puzzles, art box, books/magazines and small fidgits). Each of these areas will be well marked.

Photo Opp -

As this is a Premiere, we are offering to capture your moment on the red carpet in front of our step and repeat backdrop. These are free photos and will be uploaded to the Gallagher Bluedorn Facebook Page as well as right here on the Uncommon Sense Blog.

Things to know AFTER the show:

Video Opp -

Following the performance the Tectonic Theater Project would like to hear your reactions to the show. If you'd like to go on camera with a statement look for the videographer in the lobby.

Reception & Talk Back -

Join us for refreshments (water, lemonade, coffee and cookies) and a discussion with the directors and cast from the show.

THANK YOU!

We would like to thank our sponsors, the Iowa Arts Council, Art Works, the College of Social & Behavior Sciences, Veridian Credit Union, West Music, the Center for Multicultural Education, Talk To Me Technologies, and Ralph and Jane Schwartz Visiting Artists Series Endowed Program. Sponsors allow us to offer tickets to our shows at a lower price. Thank you, sponsors!

And from the bottom of our heart, we would also like to extend our thanks to many members of our community. Thank you for generously sharing your stories. Thank you for your unyielding support, for your encouragement, and for your presence. This project simply would not be the same without you.

I met Andy and Anushka over ten years ago working in theatre and was lucky to learn from them as friends and watching them as young parents. I helped take care of their first child, Sasha, and then Zoe, their second. As the mother of a three year old now, my gratitude for those satellite experiences only increases as I gain my own first hand experiences as I keep making my own definition of what a parent is, who a mother is, who I am - with, without, and because of - my son.

I’ve watched drafts of this script evolve now over years and I find the struggles and triumphs, secrets and revelations, heartaches and strengths of the humans that populate this play deepening for me with each encounter. Working on the material is heightening my awareness of my own neurological makeup, both the subconscious and molecular forces at play as well as the possibilities to choose and to change myself, and then, most beautifully scientific and mystically, the way those two systems dance.

With the time, tears, and tenderness Anushka, Andy, and all the people of their personal communities - and now research communities beyond - have invested there are many reasons, when invited into a play of this nature, to definitely say yes. But ultimately the reason I am here is for Sasha and Zoe, for having been moved by them and changed by them since they arrived on this planet…and because Andy and Anushka asked.

We are so excited to have you with us this evening! Check out the happenings of the evening -

Schedule of Events

5:00 PM.................Valet services are available for patrons whom would like to pay to have their car parked.

5:30 PM..................Info Fair begins in Gallagher Bluedorn lobby. Several area organizations will have tables located in the lobby for information sharing

6:15 - 6:45 PM.......Curtain Talk begins in Jebe Hall, located adjacent to the lobby. The Tectonic Theater Project is offering this prologue to the show.

6:30 PM.................Doors open for seating in the Great Hall

7:00 PM.................Uncommon Sense begins in the Great Hall! (The show takes less than two hours. There is no intermission.)

9:00 PM.................Reception begins with refreshments in the Gallagher Bluedorn lobby. The company will share about their work on Uncommon Sense.

Things to know BEFORE the show:

Entrances -

There are two main entrances to the Gallagher Bluedorn; doors on the east and west sides.

The east side is the most populated entrance as this is also where valet drop-off occurs. The west side experiences significantly less traffic.

Both entrances will take you to the lobby, which is where patrons spend time before the performance.

Tickets -

If you have tickets in will call, please arrive early as we expect high volumes of people needing to claim their tickets.

Ushers -

Ushers (dressed in white shirts and black pants) will greet you in the lobby.

They are available to help you navigate the Gallagher Bluedorn, scan your ticket(s), and find your seats. Should you have any questions, they can help address them.

Questions -

Questions may also be answered by referring to the "Patron Services" table in the lobby.

This table is located just inside the east entrance and is marked with a sign. It includes a detailed schedule for the evening, information about quiet zones, and the location of restrooms.

Quiet Zones -

Quiet Zones have been designated on three floors of the Gallagher Bluedorn. These spaces offer a place to relax before and during the performances.

For those patrons who might benefit from a break, the first floor quiet zone (right inside the west entrance) offer some 'break time' materials (puzzles, art box, books/magazines and small fidgits). Each of these areas will be well marked.

Photo Opp -

As this is a Premiere, we are offering to capture your moment on the red carpet in front of our step and repeat backdrop. These are free photos and will be uploaded to the Gallagher Bluedorn Facebook Page as well as right here on the Uncommon Sense Blog.

Things to know AFTER the show:

Video Opp -

Following the performance the Tectonic Theater Project would like to hear your reactions to the show. If you'd like to go on camera with a statement look for the videographer in the lobby.

Reception & Talk Back -

Join us for refreshments (water, lemonade, coffee and cookies) and a discussion with the directors and cast from the show.

THANK YOU!

We would like to thank our sponsors, the Iowa Arts Council, Art Works, the College of Social & Behavior Sciences, Veridian Credit Union, West Music, the Center for Multicultural Education, Talk To Me Technologies, and Ralph and Jane Schwartz Visiting Artists Series Endowed Program. Sponsors allow us to offer tickets to our shows at a lower price. Thank you, sponsors!

And from the bottom of our heart, we would also like to extend our thanks to many members of our community. Thank you for generously sharing your stories. Thank you for your unyielding support, for your encouragement, and for your presence. This project simply would not be the same without you.

I'm honored and excited to be a part of Uncommon Sense. After working for years as an actor in devised theatre, I went back to school to study special education as a New York City Teaching Fellow. I worked in District 75, NYC's schools for special education students in self-contained classrooms. I was a classroom teacher for elementary students with autism in a 6:1 setting. I learned so much about how diverse minds learn, and the benefit of individualized education. My students taught me so much about sensory processing, reflection, and the power of human relationships. Being able to meld my passions for theatre and autism education is a unique experience that I am so excited by and grateful for.

Just listened to a panel discussion with Andrew Duff from Tectonic Theater Project and UNI grad student Dakota Funk! Andrew shared how he got involved with Uncommon Sense before they talked about their experiences being on the spectrum.

The most impactful part of working with Tectonic Theater Project (TTP) in 2012 and 2013 was coming to a new understanding of a topic I knew virtually nothing about. I had read a few articles, etc. about the Autism Spectrum but had no real idea of what it meant, or how it manifests differently among different people. I had no sense of how Spectrum Disorders work at all. Learning along with my peers through the medium of devised theater brought everything into much clearer focus. To tell the story, we really had to break down the different sensory, thematic, and spatial elements that a person on the Spectrum would encounter, and approach it from that point of view.

Furthermore, I had never done devised theater before, so the working style of the team from TTP was very foreign to me. I appreciated their openness and collaboration, and really respected the perspectives of actors who were out in the world creating new work. They treated every idea that the students had as worthy of exploring, and when we began mixing and matching our scenes and ideas together, I think we (the students) were all amazed at how powerful our ideas could be.

My favorite memory was working on the two platforms that had plexiglass tops, were lit from underneath, and rolled! I had helped to build the platforms in the scene shop, and getting to explore how we could use them for the project was amazing. They were versatile, and opened up a whole new way to make our scenes.

While none of us can truly walk in another’s shoes, I feel that the attempt has not only made me more conscious of how other people can perceive the world, but also more willing to look at standard elements of theatre (light, sound, space, people, etc.) in a whole new way in terms of how they can be used to help the audience partake in the world of the play. In summary, I would definitely repeat the experience! I loved collaborating with my peers and learning together. If we were all to come back and do it again now, it would be interesting to see how our ideas have changed and what we would come up with!